On June 6, 1944, the momentum of global currents changed.
Allied forces, led by Dwight Eisenhower, began an invasion into Europe that would
eventually turn the tide of history in an entirely new direction. Today, we live
in the wake of that momentous moment. There is very little I could say in a
short space that would do justice to the magnitude of D-Day as a
game-changing historic event in our modern times. Therefore, here are the words
of Eisenhower himself, both his message
to the troops (and the world) and his reflections
on what it took to get there.
The prospect was not bright because
of the possibility that we might land the first several waves successfully and
then find later build-up impracticable, and so have to leave the isolated
original attacking forces easy prey to German counteraction. However, the
consequences of the delay justified great risk and I quickly announced the
decision to go ahead with the attack on June 6. The time was then 4:15 a.m.,
June 5. No one present disagreed and there was a definite brightening of faces
as, without a further word, each went off to his respective post of duty to
flash out to his command the messages that would set the whole host in motion.[1]
While we watch with wonder and concern as our world
continues to transform, consider this day, June 6, when D-Day set in motion a momentum
that would change the course of a world at war. Consider also how D-Day set in motion
a momentum that would also change the course of international relations in a
decidedly new direction.
